About Provider
Our Mission
The mission of United Community Action Network, (UCAN) is a nonprofit organization that serves as a catalyst for the community by enhancing community health, wellness, and quality of life in the Antelope Valley through the collaboration of local residents, agencies, faith-based organizations, and government agencies. UCAN works to empower at-risk youth and high-risk youth in our community to make positive choices that enable them to maximize their personal potential. Through collaborative programming with schools and other community and faith-based organizations, we provide educational and social mentoring opportunities to enhance the academic performance, social and community connections, as well as reentrance, and career options for the youth.
Program Objectives
The objective of the United Community Action Network Programs: To provide high-risk youth from ages 11-18 access to a healthy social, emotional, and academic environment through community-wide interagency collaborative by providing a mentor and mentoring services to build life skills and self-efficacy.
Objectives:
- Maintain current level of school-based mentor services for high-risk students in grades 7-12 who are referred from the A.V. High School District and Los Angeles County Probation Camps.
- Provide career and life skills mentoring services to an additional 100 students per year by expanding the program to ages 11-20, and by encouraging referrals from parents and community agencies in addition to schools.
- Provide conflict resolution and anger management mentoring services to community day school students who are released from Camp and school visits.
- Increase the number of youth referred from the probation department who are participating in the music and arts mentoring services at United Community Action Network (UCAN) by 40 students per year.
- Provide 30 high-risk students per year the opportunity to participate in neighborhood improvement projects with a faith-based group called Neighborhood Impact.
- Provide all Parents and Guardians with a minimum of 6 weeks of strength-based evidence-based parenting programs approved by Probation and OJJDP that will address all the risk factors that caused the incarceration of the youth assisting them with developing a written action plan for the youth’s release.
- Second drug offense counseling services will be provided to at-risk students and their parents as an intervention measure and/or as part of an expulsion rehabilitation plan, including those students who are at risk for gang involvement. The sessions will be provided through the school year with six drug diversion modules of 45 minutes each in a classroom setting on the Phoenix High School campus with a minimum of 10 students per class. Parents of participating students may attend parenting classes at the United Community Action Network facility.
School Assemblies
Violence has become a way of dealing with problems among our youth and it is urgent that we redirect their responses in a positive way. This is why UCAN holds school assemblies with a message to the youth to overthrow drugs, alcohol, violence, crime, and hatred through exciting speakers.
Support Groups
The purpose of both the parent and the youth support groups is to rebuild relationships within the family and provide parents and their children problem-solving techniques while stressing communications. This program not only assists them in dealing with their family issues but also offers teaching skills for the dysfunctional family.
Drug and Alcohol Diversion
This is an outpatient, non-intensive treatment program for adolescents. Parents of teens will be requested to attend the Parent Support Group and teens may also be requested to attend the Teen Support Group. Services are provided on a sliding scale based on the family’s ability to pay or by voucher. This program works with dually diagnosed patients.
Feeding The Homeless
UCAN runs a local Soup Kitchen from our building every Friday. Our team of volunteers start preparing food early every Friday morning to feed our local homeless in need. After a nice warm meal, the homeless can shower and then are free to take any other provisions that have been so generously donated. In addition to feeding and clothing the needy, UCAN works closely with third party organizations, both governmental and non-profits. Our team works hard to get additional services to those in need. The Department of Mental Services as well as Social Security are just a couple of the relationships we developed over the years.
Please contact Daniel Zenker via our Contact Form, call our office at (661)948-3000 during normal operational hours, or visit or location at 44231 North Division Street, Lancaster California 93535.
Kid’s Charities
For over 10 years, UCAN, has worked closely with Kid’s Charities to raise money through events like Thunder On The Lot (Website). Collaborating in labor and fundraising in a common goal to help educate our community and provide assistance to those in need. If you have any questions on how you can help, please contact:
Kid’s Charities:
742 West Avenue L
Lancaster, CA 93534
Phone: (661) 942-4111
